Some people love to scare themselves in an already scary world – here’s why

As a teenager, falling meant football games, prom dresses – and haunted houses. My friends organized group trips to the local fair, where barn sheds were transformed into halls of horror and masked men with (chainless) chainsaws picked at our ankles as we waited in line, expecting even worse horrors to come our way we were inside.

I’m not the only one who loves a good scare. America Haunts, a Halloween attractions company, estimates that Americans spend more than $500 million annually on entrance fees to haunted houses just for the privilege of being scared. And many horror fans don’t limit their horror entertainment to the spooky season and devour horror films, shows and books all year round.

For some people, this preoccupation with horror can seem tone-deaf. School shootings, child abuse, war – the list of real-world horrors is endless. Why seek artificial fear for entertainment when the world offers real terror in such abundance?

As a developmental psychologist who also writes dark thrillers, I find the intersection between psychology and fear fascinating. To explain what triggers this fascination with fear, I refer to the theory that emotions emerged as a universal experience in humans because they help us survive. Creating fear in an otherwise safe life can be fun – and is a way for people to practice and prepare for real-life dangers.

Fear can feel good

Controlled fear experiences—where you can click your remote, close the book, or leave the haunted house at any time—provide the physiological rush that fear produces without any real risk.

When you feel threatened, adrenaline levels in your body rise and the evolutionary fight-or-flight response is activated. Your heart rate increases, you breathe deeper and faster, and your blood pressure rises. Your body prepares to defend itself against the danger or to get away from it as quickly as possible.

This physical reaction is crucial when faced with a real threat. When you experience controlled fear – like jump scares on a zombie TV show – you can enjoy that energetic feeling, similar to a runner’s high, without risk. And once the threat is dealt with, your body releases the neurotransmitter dopamine, which provides a feeling of joy and relief.

In one study, researchers found that people who visited a high-intensity haunted house as a controlled fear experience showed less brain activity in response to stimuli and less anxiety after exposure. This finding suggests that exposing yourself to horror movies, scary stories, or exciting video games can actually calm you down afterward. The effect might also explain why my husband and I decide to relax by watching zombie shows after a hard day at work.

The ties that connect

A key human motivation is the feeling of belonging to a social group. According to the surgeon general, Americans who miss these connections are entering an epidemic of loneliness, putting people at risk of mental and physical health problems.

Experiencing intense fears together strengthens the bond between people. Good examples include veterans who served together in combat, survivors of natural disasters, and the “families” formed in first responder groups.

I am a volunteer firefighter and the unique connection that comes from sharing intense threats, such as entering a burning building together, manifests itself in deep emotional bonds with my colleagues. After a major fire operation, we often notice improved morale and camaraderie in the fire department. Every time I think of my firefighting partners, I feel a flood of positive emotions, even if the events happened months or years ago.

Controlled fear experiences artificially create similar bonding opportunities. Not only does stress trigger the fight-or-flight response, but in many situations it also triggers what psychologists call the “lean-and-befriend” system. A perceived threat causes people to care for offspring and form social-emotional bonds for protection and comfort. This system is largely regulated by the so-called “love hormone” oxytocin.

The lean-and-befriend response is especially likely when you are under stress dealing with others with whom you have already established good social relationships. When you encounter stressors in your social network, your oxytocin levels increase to initiate social coping strategies. So when you tackle a recreational fright experience like a haunted house with friends, you’re laying the emotional foundation to feel connected to the people around you.

Sitting in the dark with friends while watching a scary movie or navigating an enchanted corn maze with a date is good for your health because it helps increase social connections.

An ounce of prevention = a pound of cure

Controlled fear experiences can also be a way for you to prepare for the worst. Consider the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the films “Contagion” and “Outbreak” were trending on streaming platforms while people around the world sheltered at home. By watching threat scenarios play out in a controlled manner in the media, you can learn more about your fears and emotionally prepare yourself for future threats.

For example, researchers at the Recreational Fear Lab at Aarhus University in Denmark showed in a study that people who regularly consumed horror media were more psychologically resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic than non-horror fans. The scientists suspect that this resilience may be the result of a type of training that these fans underwent – practicing how to deal with the fear and anxiety that their preferred form of entertainment evoked. As a result, they were better prepared to deal with the real fear caused by the pandemic.

When I’m not teaching, I’m an avid reader of crime novels. I also write psychological thrillers under the pseudonym Sarah K. Stephens. As a reader and writer, I notice similar themes in the books I’m drawn to, all tied to my own deep-rooted fears: mothers who somehow abandon their children, women who are manipulated into submissiveness, many misogynistic antagonists.

I enjoy writing and reading about my fears—and seeing the bad guys get their just reward in the end—because it gives me the opportunity to control the story. Consuming these narratives allows me to mentally rehearse how I would deal with such circumstances if they manifested themselves in my real life.

Survive and thrive

In controlled fear experiences, scaring yourself is a crucial technique for surviving and adapting in a frightening world. By evoking strong, positive emotions, strengthening social networks, and preparing you for your worst fears, you will be better able to enjoy each day to the fullest.

So next time you’re choosing between a light-hearted comedy and a scary thriller for your movie night, choose the dark side – it’s good for your health.